Sighting scopes are a useful accessory for a firearm, however firearms are often supplied without a scope leaving the shooter to purchase and fit a scope. A scope is usually fitted to a mounting rail or dovetail on the top of a firearm with the aid of scope rings. Scope rings come in a variety of heights to suit different scope and firearm combinations as well as the preferences of a shooter. A scope ring must support a scope at a sufficient height so that the scope clears the barrel and preferably as low as possible to increase the accuracy of the scope/firearm combination. It is therefore important that the correct height scope rings are chosen, this however is not an easy task. It is common for incorrect scope rings to be selected and purchased. This is both inconvenient for a shooter and a costly exercise if the scope rings cannot be returned to the vendor.
At present there is no easy and reliable method to determine the appropriate height of scope rings to use with a particular firearm and scope combination. A search of online forums for shooters confirms that this is a common problem.
In the first instance a shooter may hold a scope in the appropriate position and attempt to measure the height from the top of the rail to the middle of the scope. This method is fraught with inaccuracies.
Some online calculators exist for determining scope ring height, however these rely on accurate measurements of firearm and scope geometry. Some calculators come with predefined values for some measurements for particular firearms and scopes, however the coverage is not universal and is often limited to particular brands of firearms and scopes that the web site vendor is affiliated with.
The object of this invention is to provide a tool capable of measuring the appropriate height for firearm scope rings to alleviate the above problems, or at least provides the public with a useful alternative.